Deftones – Private Music

Deftones’ Private Music (2025) is a masterclass in contrast—dreamlike serenity colliding with jagged intensity. Their tenth studio album and first in five years, it reunites the band with producer Nick Raskulinecz (of Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan fame), and features touring bassist Fred Sablan alongside core members Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Abe Cunningham, and Frank Delgado.

The album opens with thunderous riffs and ethereal textures, threading together shoegaze, alt-metal, and synth-laced dream pop. Singles like “My Mind Is a Mountain” and “Milk of the Madonna” showcase Deftones’ signature ability to sound both possessed and peaceful, while deeper cuts like “Cut Hands” and “Ecdysis” explore emotional exhaustion and personal transformation through visceral soundscapes.

Moreno’s lyrics dive into themes of inner turmoil, spirituality, and love, often stylized in lowercase to reflect the album’s introspective tone. “I Think About You All the Time” and “Departing the Body” evoke a kind of haunted optimism, balancing vulnerability with cosmic detachment.

Critics hailed Private Music as a return to form, with a Metacritic score of 91 indicating universal acclaim. It’s a record that feels like shedding skin—painful, luminous, and necessary. Three decades in, Deftones remain architects of atmosphere, still building cathedrals out of distortion and light.